The present invention relates to methods of treating agricultural materials and in particular to methods of treating cut or harvested hay, milo and similar materials. The method is particularly adapted to the treatment of freshly cut hay and to the preservation of hay bales or haystacks by the application of preferred compositions according to this disclosure.
Freshly cut hay is generally processed into bales or stacks for storage. These have been of a variety of sizes, but in the past most hay bales, such as square bales, were usually 2 to 3 cubic feet in size. However, more recently newer baling techniques have led to production of large circular bales of about 100 cubic feet in size and weighing 1,200 to 1,500 pounds. Also, many hay cutting and storing techniques produce very large stacks that are much larger than even the largest bales.
Hay bales and/or stacks may be transported over considerable distances and stored for considerable lengths of time before use. During any transport or storage both physical and chemical changes can occur in the hay, lessening its value and usability as animal feed.
Physical changes in the hay are more prevalent in large bales and stacks than in smaller bales. The physical changes are often due to the large weight of the bales or stacks. The outer and lower layers of these heavy hay bales and haystacks can become loose, causing large amounts of hay to fall from the bale or stack during transportation. The losses are often between 8 and 30 percent of the bale, and on occasion even greater. This not only causes inconvenience and financial loss, but in some instances it can be hazardous. For example a transported stack of hay, when carried over a highway, may drop as much as 30 percent of its weight onto the road, forming an obstruction.
Another way in which portions of hay material may be lost is due to weather, for example high winds or heavy rains. Also extensive shock or vibration during transport can cause substantial losses from even tightly stacked piles of material.
In the past these physical changes have been less of a problem, due to the smaller size of the hay bales. Smaller hay bales may be tightly bound with baling wire, and are therefore less likely to undergo the above-described loss. Thus, until relatively recently, there has been less need to control this problem.
Chemical changes in the hay, generally deterioration and rot leading to nutritutional losses, occur in part due to moisture in the hay and also microbial action within the bales or stacks. The moisture may enter the hay as a result of rains and the like. Very large hay bales or stacks may be particularly slow to dry, and be particularly hard to keep dry, especially when frequent exposure to rain occurs.
Microbial action has long been recognized as a source of problems in freshly cut materials, especially hay. Most of the losses due to microbial action occur within the first few days or weeks of the baling or stacking. The microbial action produces high temperatures within the bales, leading to the nutritional loss prior to a complete drying of the hay.
In the past different approaches have been taken in attempts to solve each of the above problems, and no single unified solution has been achieved. With respect to microbial action, generally anti-microbial materials have been added to cut agricultural material. For example preservatives have been added to fodder being stored.
With respect to the problem of water due to rains or the like, generally the haystacks or bales, when sun is not necessary, have been covered by waterproof or water resistant coverings, such as plastic tarps or the like, or the material has been stored indoors.
With respect to losses due to loose hay in outer layers of the stacks or bales, past solutions have generally involved the use of baling wire, cord or the like to tie the bale or stack together. Of course with very large stacks or bales this can be difficult to manage.
Thus, no satisfactory, unified approach to the problem has yet been developed. The multiplicity of activity required by the approaches listed above may not only be relatively expensive and inconvenient, but also may require substantial expenditure of time on the part of farmers during a period of the growing season in which time is short and valuable. Further, in some instances the solutions have been less than effective. For example, covering hay with a tarp can prevent the sun and air from getting to the hay, leading to ineffective drying. It has already been mentioned that for large haystacks and large bales binding with baling wire, cord or the like can be ineffective, especially unless large amounts of wire or cord are used.